Cooling unit



- Aug. 5, 1947. c. R. PAPAY coQLIHG UNIT Filed llarch 24. v1944 2 Sheetvs-Sheet '1 Aug. 5, 1947.

.A. w u 7% 4 a M 2 E .C C .w .7. f, A u y lllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Il F Patented Aug. 5, 1947 alzano orificeI comme UNIT Charles R. Pansy, Rocky River,v Ohio, to

Designers for Industry, a corporationof Ollio Application March 24. 1944, sei-ni No. 521.9:1 s claims. (ci. asv- 233) This invention relates paratus and, as' one of its objects, aims to provide a novel form of heat-exchange unit which is very compact and efllcient and .is well suited for use in air conditioning apparatus and the like'.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel form of cooling and dehumidifying unit embodying a group of heat-conducting plates which aiord an extensive contact area. for the air or other medium being conditioned, and

to thermal-exchange apwherein the conditioning is carried out substantially without the formation of frost.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel cooling and dehumidifying unit, of the character mentioned, in which the plates are exposed in a chamber having walls containing thermal-insulating material and which plates have edge portions thereof Joined to fluid conducting pipes embedded in such insulating material.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel heat-exchange unit, of the character referred to, wherein the heat-conducting' plates are disposed so as to cause a circuitous flow of the air through the conditioning chamber.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying sheets of drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a thermalexchange unit constructed according to the present invention, the housing of the unit being shown in construction lines only;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken through the unit as indicated by line 2-2 of I Fig. 1 and with the housing shown in full lines;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan View taken on line 3 3 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the unit on line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

As above indicated in a general way,` my thermal-exchange unit I embodies a. novel construction which can be used for various purposes and in various heat-exchange systems and apparatus, but which is especially suitable for use as a cooling unit in refrigerating or air condi-l tioning apparatus.

For that reason the unit i9 is hereinafter described as a cooling unit but it will be understood, of course, that this is done without intention of limiting the invention to such u'se.

yand advantage because Inc., Cleveland, 0h10.

the desired conditioning of the air can be obtained without using the relatively lower temperatures which would be required for' conditioningthe same volume of airv with a smaller cooling area. Moreover, the conditioning of the al1-,by the use of a large cooling area and a more moderate temperature has the advantage that the conditioning is accomplished substantially without formation of frost on the cooling surfaces. This is very desirable because frost adhering to cooling surfaces acts as an insulating medium which retards the transfer of heat and decreases the emciency of the cooling surfaces and apparatus.

As shown in the drawings, the cooling unit Il comprises a housing having top and bottom walls Il, side walls I 2 and end walls Il, auch walls defining a cooling chamber I4. Certain oi' the walls of the housing, in this instance the end walls I3, have inlet and delivery openings il and il for the air or other medium being conditioned. 'I'he walls of the housing contain a thermal-insulating material 'il which may be any substance suitable for this purpose and which will prevent the transfer of heat through such walls.

The cooling surface is provided by a group o1' plates i8 and I9 which are preferably o! Polygonal form, such as the cuadrangular shape shown I in the drawings, and which extend transversely of the cooling chamber I4 and are disposed in spaced substantially parallel relation to each other. Edge portions of the plates, in this iiistance the top and bottom edges 20 and 2|, are connected therealong with pipes 23 which carry a thermalfexchange uid or refrigerant, such as brine or the like. The edge portions 20 and 2l are in direct metallic contact with the pipes 23 and are joined to the latter as by means of silver solder 26 or other suitable medium affording a connection of good thermal-conductivity between the plates and pipes.

As shown in the drawings, the pipes 23 are completely embedded in the insulating material I1 contained in the walls of the chaniber i4. The edge portions of the plates I8 and I9 which are Iconnected with the pipesV 2l extendpartway into this insulating material but the maior portion of the surface area of the plates remains ex- As will become more apparent hereinafter, the

unit I 0 provides a cooling surface of relatively large area for contact with the air to be cooled` ding of the pipes 23 in the insulating material i1 shields' the same from contact with the air being conditioned and thus prevents the formation of frost on these pipes. Since the pipes 23 carry the thermalexchange duid, they are usually at a lower temperature than the cooling plates I8 and I9 and would become coated with frost it they were not shielded from contact with the air by means of the insulating material in which they are embedded.

The pipes 23 are here shown as substantially U-shaped branch pipes or coils which are embedded in, and extend around, three sides of the cooling chamber I4. These pipes are spaced longitudinally of the cooling chamber in substantially parallel relation to each other and are located to correspond with the spaced plates I8 and I9. The lends o! the U-shaped pipes 23 are connected 'with supply and return pipes 25 and 2B which are embedded in one pair of walls oi' the chamber I4, in this instance in the top and bottom walls Il, and through which a circulation of the thermal-exchange fluid or brine can be maintained.

The cooling plates Il and I9 may be constructed of any suitable material having a relatively high thermal-conductivity and, :lor example, may be made of copper. As shown in the drawings, certain of the plates are disposed in a staggered or oilset relation, so as to provide a circuitous path for the air being conditioned, such path being indicated in Fig. 3 by the broken line oi arrows 21. In obtaining this circuitous path, the plates I8 terminate short of one of the side walls oi the coolingvchamber so as to leave air passages 28 therebetween and the alternate plates I9 terminate short of the opposite side wall of the chamber to provide the passages 29 therebetween.

During the cooling and dehumidiiying operation carried out with the unit I heat is absorbed from the air by the plates I8 and I! which are in direct contact with such air and the high thermal-conductivity of these plates causes such heat to be readily conducted to the pipes 23 and carried away by the .thermal-exchange viluid being circulated through the latter. The cooling oi' the air causes moisture to be deposited therefrom onto'the plates I8 and I9 and such moisture runs down on the plates and collects in the bottom of the cooling chamber Il from which it isl removed through suitable drain pipes or openings 30. Y

From the foregoing description and the accompanying drawings it will now be readily understood that I have provided a novel form of thermal-exchange unit which is well suited for use in reirigerating and air conditioning apparatus, and wherein the cooling or conditioning can be can'ied out in an emcient manner and substantially without the formation of frost on the cooling surfaces.

While I have illustrated and described my novel thermal-exchange unit in more or less detail, it will be understood, of, course, that I do not wish to be correspondingly limited but regard my invention as including all changes and modiflcations coming within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described'my invention, I claim:

1. A cooling unit of the character described comprising, a chamber having wallscontaining thermal insulating material, said walls having openings for the passage of air through said chamber, refrigerant conducting pipes extending along said walls and embedded in said insulating material, and metal plates having their edges joined to said pipes and extending into and #part way across said chamber for contact with said air, said plates extending transversely to the general direction of ilow of the air and certain of said plates being offset with respet to others so as to cause said air to follow a circuitous path.

2. A cooling unit comprising. a housing having walls containing thermal insulating material and denning a cooling chamber, said walls having openings for the passage of air through said chamber, refrigerant-conducting pipes embedded in said insulating material including a plurality of spaced substantially parallel pipes extending at least part way around said chamber, and a group of substantially parallel metal plates having edge portions thereof Joined to said spaced pipes and extending into and part way across vsaid chamber for contact with said air, said plates extending transversely to the general direction otow of the air and alternate plates of said group being oiset with respect to the remaining plates so as to cause said air to follow a circuitous path.

3. A cooling unit comprising. a housing having pairs of opposed walls containing thermal insulating material and defining a cooling chamber, certain of said walls having openings for the passage of air into andout oi' said chamber, refrigerant-conducting pipes extending along one pair of said opposed walls and embedded in the insulating material thereof, and a group of substantially parallel thermally conducting metal plates extending entirely across said chamber between said one pair of opposed walls and having one pair of their opposed edges joined directly to said pipes and other edge portions of said plates being spaced from other walls of said chamber so as to permit a ilow of said air through the chamber in contact with said plates, alternate plates of said group being offset with respect to the remaining plates so as to cause said air to follow a circuitous path.

4. A cooling unit comprising, a housing having pairs of opposed walls containing thermal insulating material and deilning a cooling chamber, certain of said Walls having openings for the passage of air into and out of said chamber, refrlgerant-conducting pipes embedded in said insulating material and including a pair of supply and return pipes and a plurality of substantially parallel branch pipes having their ends connected with said supply and return pipes at points spaced along the latter. saidbranch pipes extending in continuous relation along and being embedded in a pair of opposed side walls and a side wall connecting said opposed walls, and thermally conducting metal plates extending entirely across said chamber between said one pair of opposed Walls and having one pair of their opposed edges joined directly to said branch pipes and other edge portions of said plates being spaced from other Walls of said chamber so as to permit a flow of said air through the chamber in contact with said plates.

5. A cooling unit comprising, a housing having pairs of opposed walls containing thermal insulating material and delning a cooling chamber, certain ol' said walls having openings for the passage of air into and out of said chamber, refrigerant-conducting pipes embedded in said insulating material and including a pair of supply and return pipes and a plurality of substantially `parallel branch pipes having their ends conof said air through the Achamber in contact with said plates, alternate plates of said groupl being oiset with respect to the remaining plates so as to cause said air to follow a. circuitous path.

CHARLES R. PAPAY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the me of this patent? 5 K UNITED STATES PATENTS f Number* Name Date 1,799,632 Murray Apr. 7, 1931 1,879,241 H111 sept. 27, 1932 l0 A2,313,499 Allme Mar. 9, 1943 

